A few months ago, Zee TV launched the television show “Hitler Didi.” Despite its controversial title, the show has nothing to do with the German dictator. It’s about a simple Indian girl who cares about her family, perhaps a little too much: In taking care of her large family, she becomes a little authoritarian.

This is how Zee TV describes the show.

“Weighed down considerably by the enormous responsibility of single-handedly providing for her large family, young Indira Sharma… throws herself into the daunting task and the well-being of her family becomes her sole agenda in life. In facing the daily challenges thrown her way on both the home and work front, she loses her sense of humour, her ability to feel finer emotions and becomes a regimental disciplinarian, a workaholic and a perfectionist who is almost always on the verge of losing her cool.”

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Replace “large family” with West Bengal, “work front” with the central government and you could be forgiven for thinking the Didi in question is Mamata Banerjee.

The chief minister of West Bengal, who happens to be affectionately known as Didi as well, is a firm believer that when it comes to her home state she knows best. Lately, she has taken it a little far, with many speaking out against her government’s growing intolerance of dissent.

Even Noam Chomsky, the celebrated linguistics professor and social activist, weighed in. He was one of several signatories to a letter sent to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday that reportedly laments the use of force by state authorities in West Bengal.

The authors of the letter, which alleged several infringements of human rights, claimed the detention of professor Ambikesh Mahapatra “constitutes a clear violation of freedom of speech.” The main aim of the letter was to call for the release of another professor, biologist Partho Sarothi Ray, who they say has been unjustly detained after taking part in a protest against the eviction of slum dwellers in Kolkata. Mr. Roy was released on bail late Tuesday.

“We are extremely perturbed by such use of state force in cracking down on human rights activists, and citizens attempting to raise issues of concern related to some of the poorest and most vulnerable people or for actions such as forwarding cartoons,” the letter added. Signatories also include Aruna Roy, a social activist and member of India’s National Advisory Council, a body chaired by Congress party President Sonia Gandhi.

A senior police officer in Kolkata, where the case against Mr. Mahapatra was registered, said the professor is accused of having violated India’s Information Technology Act. He described the material shared by Mr. Mahapatra as an “offensive and non-featurable picture of our honorable chief minister.” He declined to provide further details on the ongoing probe.

The strong response against Mr. Mahapatra was deemed excessive by some members of Ms. Banerjee’s own party, Trinamool Congress. Former Railways Minister Dinesh Trivedi, who was also included in the cartoon, distanced himself from the professor’s arrest. Speaking to reporters on Saturday, he said “cartoons are an important part of secular democracy” explaining that “the sole objective behind cartoons is to deliver a social message through good humor.”

“We should accept it and move on,” he added. While Mr. Trivedi remains a member of Trinamool Congress, he recently had a very public falling out with Ms. Banerjee, which may explain why he is not that bothered with the cartoon.

Save Your Voice

Activists protested against the arrest of Mr. Mahapatra at India Gate in New Delhi, Sunday.

The detention of Mr. Mahapatra seems to be part of a broader push by law enforcement authorities in West Bengal to crack down on criticism.

In a separate case, the state’s Criminal Investigation Department has requested Facebook Inc. to remove material deemed offensive to Ms. Banerjee and to supply IP addresses of those responsible for posting it online.A senior CID official in Kolkata confirmed they are probing a case involving Facebook but declined to provide further details. Reports say the complaint was filed last week.

This comes at a time when the commitment of India’s central government to freedom of expression is also being called into question. Earlier this year, government requested internet firms including Facebook and Google Inc. to pre-screen content posted by users that may be considered offensive. They also are facing a criminal suit for allegedly hosting content deemed offensive on their websites. The companies deny any wrongdoing and say pre-screening their websites for offensive content is impossible.

Ms. Banerjee’s government has targeted print media as well. Last month, the government of West Bengal said that state-run libraries would no longer be allowed to purchase English-language newspapers for public use, a move that sparked widespread outrage. Libraries were allowed to keep dailies in several local languages, some of which are considered to be more sympathetic to Ms. Banerjee’s government.

A spokesman for Trinamool Congress could not be reached for comment. Another party official declined to comment.

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